The former captain has blasted Roy Hodgson and his squad for their insipid display in Nice.

Alan Shearer says England's Euro 2016 exit against Iceland was the "worst performance" he has ever witnessed from the national team. The former England captain watched the Three Lions slump to a 2-1 defeat in Nice, and subsequently lambasted the team for their lack of direction and spirit.

England took the lead early in the game through captain Wayne Rooney, but fell behind to goals from Ragnar Sigurdsson and Kolbeinn Sigthorsson. After the match, Shearer was furious that England did not have an obvious game plan, while he also attacked Hodgson's team selection.

"That was the worst performance I've ever seen from an England team. Ever," he told the BBC. "We were out-fought, out-thought, out-battled and totally hopeless for 90 minutes. I said after the three group games that England weren't good enough – I didn't see enough.

"It looked to me like Roy was making it up as he was going along. It was tactically inept. How can he pick Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere? We had players in the squad who didn't deserve to be there. Manchester City's winger Raheem Sterling hasn't performed. We can go on and on. Then there was Tottenham striker Harry Kane on corners – the list is endless."

Shearer – who revealed he was open to the idea of replacing Hodgson as the manager, after he announced his resignation – also accused the England players of folding under the big-match pressure.

"Our players caved tonight," he reflected. "We've all played under pressure, they caved and the manager caved. He gave Manchester United teenage striker Marcus Rashford four minutes and he still did more than anyone else.

"We are blinded by the Premier League, we think it's the best in the world for talent, it's not. We are totally reliant for foreign players and managers for excitement. We are not as good as we think we are."

Meanwhile, Shearer revealed he spoke to The Football Association about the England job before Hodgson took over and although he accepts Gareth Southgate is likely to be the replacement, the former captain is keen to help however he can.

"I went to see the Football Association four or five years ago and said I want the England job, they looked at me and said: 'No, you haven't got the experience'," he shared. "I said you have hired experienced managers, spent a fortune on them and I could not have done any worse.